Just do it!
by jin0uga
Summary: James has always been a fighter more than a lover, and dating the most desirable woman in Atlas has him worried that their lack of physical contact will drive her away. So, he goes to the biggest (and only) womanizer he knows for romantic advice. Qrow Branwen. Happy Valentine's Day! [Complete]
1. Chapter 1

"So," Qrow drawls, taking a sip from his flask. "It's _that_ kind of problem, eh?"

Ironwood rolls his eyes at the cheeky smirk that spreads across Qrow's face. He wonders, sourly, how this man could ever get a member of the female species to come within ten feet of him. His gloved hand reaches up to pull his tie, and the corner of his lips quirk up in a small smile when he remembers Winter tying it for him this morning.

"You're thinking about her right now, aren't ya?" The bearded man shakes his head in exasperation. "Jimmy my boy, you're so goddamn whipped." He quips.

"Some of us actually like being in a relationship, Qrow." The general replies sternly.

"Yeah yeah, but like I said." Qrow waves his words away and takes another long swig from his flask. He burps, and grins at the look of disgust that crosses the man's face. " _Whipped_."

James sighs and resists the urge to cradle his head. Why did he think that coming to this drunkard of a man would be helpful? He should have taken his advisor's advice and visited the quack love doctor in Atlas.

Seeing Ironwood sigh so despondently makes Qrow straighten. He sighs in turn and puts away his flask, levelling his old friend with a look. "So. What do you want to know?"

The general feels his eyebrow arch at the seriousness behind those words. He tries to gather the words, and hopes to the gods above that he won't get laughed out of the military. After all, who ever heard of a general asking for relationship advice?

"For starters, I want to know how to get Winter…riled up." James says, fiddling with his hands. He keeps steady eye contact with the crimson eyed man and swallows the saliva gathered in his mouth. The memories of his girlfriend fidgeting when they try to engage in a session of necking coming to mind.

It's bad enough that he's uncomfortable with skin contact considering that half his chest is made of metal, but Winter isn't exactly an expert either. Their dynamic also makes it difficult for them to be completely at ease with one another. James understands that it's difficult to get rid of a lifetime of military training and it's not like he wants to _order_ her to touch him. The thought of abusing his influence over her makes him sick to his stomach.

"I have no doubt that Winter has her needs, and I want to fulfil them." He says, and Qrow bobs his head to show that he's listening. "But our respective stations make it difficult for her to see me as just her lover. To her, I am a general first, and a man, second."

Qrow hums and scratches his cheek idly. He muses that it sounds exactly like Winter Schnee to be that uptight, even with her boyfriend. The military hierarchy probably didn't help matters, and Ironwood was probably too much of a stiff to flirt during working hours.

That thought makes his eyes light up. Why hadn't he thought of that sooner? Flirting! The most powerful weapon ever invented by horny, naked people. Eureka!

Qrow folds his arms. "Okay, listen up Jimbo."

James grunts at the nickname and shoots him an icy glare. Qrow ignores him in favour of laying out his absolutely _brilliant_ plan. "You gotta make her want you. Do you guys do role play or any other kinky shit?"

The general sputters in indignation. "W-What?! Of course not. The farthest we've gone is kissing and even then it's rather short."

Qrow throws his head back and groans. These virgins. They had a shitload of material for roleplay and they weren't even aware of it. "Ugh, those uniforms are wasted on you guys." He grumbles, rolling his eyes. "How much do you flirt with her in a day?"

"You mean how often I pay her compliments?" James frowns. "Once or twice throughout the day."

"Well, what do you say to her? Lay it on me."

"In most cases?" The general ponders. "That she looks nice today."

As soon as those words passed through his lips, Qrow leans across the table and slaps him across the head. The branwen looks utterly appalled, and scowls when the general shoots him a cold glare while slicking back the few hairs that were knocked out of place.

"Are you kidding me?!" The crimson eyed hunter all but shouts at the man before him.

James feels one of his eyebrows lift, entirely unamused and uncertain at why Qrow was reacting this way.

"You can literally say anything to her, and you say that she looks _nice_?" Qrow cringes and slaps his forehead. "Fucking idiot."

"What else am I supposed to say?" James defends, annoyed by such a violent reaction. "I also compliment how smart her uniform looks on occasion." He adds.

"How smart her uniform– _no_. No. No. No. Absolutely, fucking, not. Have you ever told her how beautiful her eyes are?"

He shakes his head.

"What about her smile? Her hair? Her lips? Her fucking _eyebrows_?" Qrow asks desperately.

Again, the general shakes his head. Winter seemed perfectly satisfied whenever he told her how nice she'd looked, so he didn't think to follow up on it. After all, both of them were people of few words – actions weighed more than words did.

"I didn't think that it was necessary." James replies smoothly. "And Winter seems perfectly fine with my compliments."

"Oh for crying out loud, of course the ice queen is satisfied. You've only ever given her the bare minimum! This ain't preschool, you gotta do more than just say that 'she looks nice' and only smiling at her when you're alone."

"…What's wrong with smiling at her only when we're alone?"

" _Everything_! You can't just toss her some affection whenever it suits you, you goddamn prat. Communication is a two way street, remember? If you ain't giving her love, she's not going to give any back." Qrow finishes astutely.

Internally, he's shrieking at how oblivious this guy is. His niece (the younger one) can flirt better than this guy. Actually, Qrow still can't believe that he's giving the _general of the Atlas military_ lessons on how to woo a woman. How did this guy even get together with Winter anyway?

"That makes sense." James admits, sighing and folding his arms.

"Damn straight it does." The hunter pulls out his flask and shakes it to see how much is left. He groans when he realises that he's nearly out. "This is going to be a long lunch. Get out your goddamn notepad, Ironwood – you're going to need it."


	2. Chapter 2

Winter jumps when Ironwood's shoulder brushes against hers. She stops to look incredulously at her boyfriend, wondering for the umpteenth time that day why he was acting so…strangely.

They'd met in the morning for their usual routine, the traditional military warmup that consisted of an hour's jog, and thirty minutes of sparring. She'd expected James to greet her in his usual stoic way – with a slight nod and a few words about how nice she looked. Granted, the man could be insufferably uptight at times, but Winter was mostly flattered at how he had made it a point to compliment her every morning.

This morning however, had been slightly different.

Not only did he say that she looked nice, but he'd also added that her hair seemed exceptionally lovely. She nearly tripped over her own feet. Now _that_ had been new. If anything, the military had taught her how comforting routines could be. And his additional compliment had been anything _but_ routine. She had gaped at the man for three whole seconds before picking up her jaw from the ground.

Six hours have passed since then, but Winter still feels at a loss.

Smiling unsurely, she tosses a look behind her to see the general marching towards his office. He looks oddly stiff today, she notes with a worried frown, and she wonders if something bad has happened. After their morning workout, the two separated at the showers, and just before James disappeared – he had reached out to grab her hand.

She remembers the feeling of his real palm pressing firmly against hers.

Winter blushes, trying to stem the warmth coiling in the base of her stomach. Even after the shower, the weight of his hand never seemed to leave her own. Stopping abruptly in the middle of the link way connecting the main base to the barracks, she lifts her hand to stare at it – flexing her fingers several times. She remembers his steely eyed look. And the tenderness behind it.

She sighs almost dreamily.

* * *

James hopes he hasn't taken it too far.

It's the fourth day since he's started implementing Qrow's advice and he can tell that it's really affecting Winter. She's taken to day dreaming more than usual. He makes it a point to leave fleeting touches whenever they cross paths, and the memory of her blush makes his lips quirk up in a smirk.

The smirk disappears when he takes sees the stack of papers on his desk. His lips thin. The soldiers under her are starting to come forward with reports on their superior, most of them extremely worried that the Schnee would sigh at nothing in particular, smiling at anything and everything. Everyone knows that Schnees are nothing but cold, and to see Winter with her guard down was jarring for almost everyone, even James. It seems that whatever he's been doing is affecting her. Badly. The general sighs heavily. He wonders if he'll ever be able to get it right.

He eyes his prosthetic arm, smiling grimly. Or maybe he's destined to spend his life alone.

The shriek of the door sliding open, metal scraping nosily against metal, catching his attention. James turns and feels one of his eyebrows lift in surprise.

It's Winter.

She shuts the door with a loud click, and stands there for several moments, just staring at him intensely. There's something odd about her gaze, a look of hunger in her eyes that makes his skin tingle. He covers up his shiver with a cough, pushing away the stack of papers in front of him. He shifts in his seat, trying not to be too perturbed by her piercing stare.

"Schn– I mean Winter." He says, mildly slapping himself for the faux pass. They usually refrained from using any titles to address one another when they were alone. "Do you have something for me?" He asks unsurely.

"Not at all, _general_." She purrs, sauntering forward with a coy smile. "But I do believe that _you_ have something for me."

James leans further into his seat, trying not to let his surprise show as she glides towards him with all the grace of an apex predator. There is something seductive and dangerous about her movements, and he can feels his throat tightening in trepidation. Soon enough, the woman comes to a stop before him. Is it his imagination, or is the top buttons of her uniform undone?

"The past few days have been rather…disconcerting." She drawls, "So I think that you owe me an explanation for trying to drive me insane with your actions."

Winter's gloved hand reach up to grab his chin. It is remarkably bold of her to do such a thing, and to say that the general was shocked would be a definite understatement.

"I was merely trying s-something different." James replies, his voice catching when her other hand brushes against the bicep. Winter's smirk evolves into a chesire grin when the man jerks back at the touch.

"Well, I like it very much." She says, letting go of his chin. Taking a step back, she leans against the edge of his desk and watches in amusement when he takes in a deep breath. His chair squeaks under his weight, and he stares at her with wide eyes.

She holds out her hand, crooking her finger in a 'come hither' motion that has him nearly panting.

"So I'll have to ask that you provide me with a more, in depth _demonstration_ ," She croons, a storm raging behind her icy blue eyes.

Needless to say, James Ironwood never needed to visit Qrow for advice, ever again.

* * *

 **AN** :

This fic was spawned by me thinking about the general's name. Get it? Iron _wood_. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) And surprisingly, this is the first Winter/James romance fic? What? I need more stories for this pairing, stat.

Jokes aside, Happy Valentine's day! (Or at least it is for me, this timezone stuff is kinda annoying) After episode 11, seeing Ironwood being all kinds of badass, I ended up writing this fic on a whim. I'm supposed to be working on a RubyCoco fic (it's taking forever) so y'all can look out for that! And contrary to popular belief, I do not hate all hetero pairings. I just dislike that they have to make some of the characters so gimmicky when it comes to flirting and whatever.

I figured this would be a good fic for anyone coming fresh off the latest episode. Holy fucking shit guys, RWBY has turned goddamn dark. I can't believe we've come this far, and how large the fandom has grown. Seriously, this fandom has got some dedicated writers, I mean 11k fics?! Damn. Let's hope the number continues to grow.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this short fic!


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